Lover to Lover
by Mister Grinch
Summary: You know what they say, when Pepper's away, Tony Stark will play. And he sets his sight not on a socialite, not on a new Avengers team member, and not even on the secretary momentarily taking Pepp's job. He finds himself intrigued by a witty and rude schoolteacher who refuses his every advance. Tony Stark/OC most likely Tony Stark/OC/Steve Rogers later


**Some of you may recognize the title and synopsis of this story, most of you probably don't, but this story is a rewrite of my very first fanfic that I had on a previous account. Sadly, that account was hacked by an (ex)friend when I loaned her my computer and she wiped out all of my files. After seeing the previews for Iron Man 3 my love for Tony Stark and my OC has been rekindled and so here we are. Some scenes may be familiar to those who read the original, most scenes are going to change. I don't want to rewrite a carbon copy. **

**But this first chapter will be very familiar to the original.**

"Lover to Lover"

Tony Stark has Arrived

When Tony Stark gave a guest speech at Hamilton High teachers and students alike lost every bit of sense the good lord gave them.

What used to be a downtrodden high school, set in the heart of Bed-Stuy, turned into Central Park Zoo. Pandemonium of the purest form exploded in the Gymnasium once everyone found out who their "special guest speaker" was.

Hell, even_ I_ was under the impression that I'd just be getting an earful from the mayor or maybe a B-list celebrity who went to the school or grew up in the area. I wasn't expecting Tony 'Iron Man' Stark, defender of the universe, savior of us all, to speak to us.

To be perfectly honest, I just wanted to eat lunch.

Tony was a great speaker, I had to give him that. The man knew how to deliver a riling and impassioned sermon. One where students went apeshit and women wished they'd brought spare panties. He spoke about overcoming harsh obstacles and the power of perseverance. How hard work and dedication made the man and got the girls. Then there were the parts where he spoke about experimenting with drugs, but making sure to stay away from the hard stuff. And the part where he said to explore your bodies now so that you're able to handle business when it counts.

Gotta love that Tony Stark, huh?

But I did notice how he never mentioned that if the students put their mind to it they could one day become like him. He skipped that speech-delivering-cliche all together. At least he knew the truth that there'd never be another Tony Stark. Not unless he knocked up some Ukrainian supermodel who didn't speak a lick of English.

My favorite part of his speech however, was when he finally shut the hell up and walked away from the podium he stood on. That meant one and only one thing.

I could eat lunch.

Teachers loved lunch just like all high school students did – probably even more. To not have to listen to horrible singers who thought they sounded like Beyonce, or watch as my words of wisdom floated in one ear and out the other was a beautiful thing. It was my fifty minutes of sanity in an eight hour hellish time-span.

I'd finally have some peace.

Or at least I thought I would've.

Not even three bites into my Cobb salad and I was rudely interrupted by a swarm of faculty.

They barged into the teacher's lounge, a cacophony of words attacking my ear like flies buzzing upon their arrival. Bursts of blinding white sporadically exploded in the room as they took pictures with their phones. They all were swarming one man- one man who caused all the ruckus and ruined my only chance of tranquility.

Tony Stark.

Damn it all to hell.

"Oh stop, stop, you're too kind," Tony schmoozed, his hands betraying his words as they beckoned forth more compliments and adoration. "I'm just a simple man, nothing more."

Yeah, he was simple, alright.

Suddenly not having my appetite, I trashed my meal. I could see where all of this was going, everyone was going to kiss his ass and he'd make fake conversations that he'd forget tomorrow. None of this would make a difference to him. While Hamilton High would surely talk about this for probably years to come, while students would recall the day they met Iron Man to their grandchildren, Tony Starkwould forget as soon as he entered his limo.

I tried to make my exit quietly since I didn't want to disturb anyone – though I'm sure they weren't paying attention to me. I weeded through the army of my colleagues, making sure my body didn't fall to the ground because these people would've probably trampled me to get to Tony. But I made it out alive! I made it out, my hand was on the brass door knob that led to my exit, and I was seconds away from freedom.

But that's when it happened – I was spotted.

By Tony Stark nonetheless.

"What, no picture for you?" he said, and I swear to God everyone and everything became silent. Even the clock stopped ticking. "No picture, no autograph, no question?"

I knew he meant me, I was praying that he wasn't, but I knew it was me that he was addressing because I had the worst luck in the world. A man who stepped on every crack, walked under every ladder, and lived in a house infested with black cats had better luck than I did.

Pivoting my body around, slowly but surely I met the gaze of Tony. He looked at me with whimsical eyes, as if he knew that I didn't want to talk to him. But his mouth was kept in a hard line, preventing any smile for showing.

What was I supposed to say? I didn't want to be overly nice, but I didn't want to get into a battle of words with a man famous for his razor-sharp wit and quick thinking, regardless of if I thought I could hold my own.

"I don't want to bother you," I lied. Yes I did. I lied to him to spare any drama. "You're a busy man."

He seemed to have his bullshit detector out today, because he read through my words like he studied Victorian Lit.

"I'm never too busy for a beautiful woman." He even gave me a compliment to ease the tension thickening between us. "What's your name?"

Like he'd be remembering it.

"Alana Harper."

"Well Miss Harper, it is Miss correct?"

Flirtatious asshole. "Yes."

"Would you like an autograph?"

"What for?"

My words slipped between my lips before I could catch them. Two little words and a stank attitude behind it is what caused everything to unravel.

"I don't know, perhaps you'd want to sell it on Ebay to pay for the highway robbery that's New York cost-of-living."

"I don't need your autograph to make ends meet."

"Sure you do. I know how much teachers make. You need all the help you can get."

"No, but I'm sure _you _need every bit of help you can get. I can find a good therapist for you if you want."

"I have one. She's a fiery little latina woman who doesn't speak a lick of English. Do you mind translating something for me because I have the hardest time figuring it out. Do you know what _'Si, papi! Si, papi. Ay dios mio, si!'_ means?"

"Chinga tú madre, puto."

"Don't listen to her, Tony," Kenzie Lawrence cried, falling onto the arm of Tony like a damsel in distress. "She's just a sour grape."

Ahhh, Kenzie Lawrence, oh how I hated her. She was the most pretentious, egregious, vile concoction of a woman I'd ever seen all wrapped in a pretty blonde hair, blue eyed bow. And I, being outspoken and probably just as vile, didn't take well to her. Naturally we hated each other and our disliking was a tale as old as time.

"A sour grape, huh?" Quirking an eyebrow, Tony's unwavering gaze still met my burning one like two alpha wolves fighting for dominance. He clearly thought I was going to back down or cower in fear because I tried to leave unnoticed, but he soon found out that I wasn't just going to lay down and take his badmouthing. "Miss Harper, I know this may sound ludicrous, but I'm beginning to believe that you don't like me."

Every teacher focused in on me like a missile does its target, ready to detonate if I answered incorrectly. They clearly didn't want me to leave Tony with a terrible impression of the school. If I gave the wrong response, they'd jump on me after he left.

What was more important, Hamilton High pride or Alana Harper pride?

No contest.

"Eh," I sighed. "You're overrated."

Well, I was completely wrong about the teachers. They didn't wait for Tony to leave to berate me, they did it right then and there.

It took Tony waving his hand at the rambunctious crowd for them to lower their volume like the good sheep they were.

"Let me get this straight." He cleared his throat. "You believe that someone who has laughed in the face of Death and told him to shove it is overrated? That someone who provides our Nation's military, the greatest armed forces in the all the cosmos, is overrated? That the man who served Loki, yeah, he's from a different planet, his ass on a silver platter on live television is overrated? Miss Harper, I'm not quite sure if we simply have different definitions of the word, or if you just have the inability to know a hero when you see one."

Really, was the drawn out speech necessary? I listened to him for an hour give a speech, I didn't need another one. I knew just how longwinded he could be.

But I didn't think he was lackluster in that regard. He had a long list of accomplishments that could never be rivaled. However, he had no problem with letting people know that. He inflated himself ten fold and every conversation with Tony Stark was ultimately about Tony Stark. His hubris knew no bounds while his humility wasn't to be found. His atrocious attitude, that he thought was charming, overshadowed his success.

But I didn't have the time to let him know that, so I opted for a different approach to take him down which was to undermine him. Men like him hated that.

"Make it safe for me to walk home at night without worrying about getting raped and maybe I'll think differently."

That got to him. I saw it. All that joy and mockery that once lit his brown sugar eyes momentarily switched to shock. It was only for a second, but I saw it. My little comment had struck a nerve. Did he surround himself with so many brown-nosers that he forgot that maybe not everyone liked him. Oh well, shouldn't have come to the 3-4-7 if he didn't.

Stepping through the crowd that parted for him like the red sea, Tony Stark sauntered over my way. His hands were buried in his slacks and walk was filled with confidence and assurance. The smirk growing on his lips forewarned of the dangers soon to come from this man but I didn't budge. I didn't stagger backwards and tell him to stop, because any form of protest to this man was like drug to him. Telling him to stop would only make him want to do it more. I just stood my ground, my own smile plastered on my face as he casually invaded all of my personal space and his body softly touched mine.

"Go out with me."

How was I supposed to respond to that. I don't even think he wanted me to respond by how much of a statement and direct request it was. Yes, I was strong and confident. And yes, Tony Stark was a bit repulsive, but that didn't change the fact that I was being asked out by the richest man in the world.

I was a choir and theatre teacher who was living in a rat infested apartment. Tony Stark had enough money to buy the Earth if it were for sale. I could've used this opportunity to, as he put before, pawn various collectibles on Ebay and have enough money where I'd never have to work again.

But I wasn't that kind of person and I wasn't going to use him like that.

"No."

"Come on," he whispered, a finger twirling around one of my black curly locks. "You don't want to shake hands, how about we break bread."

My hand rested on his chest, taking in the expensive texture of his suit. "What is this, italian?"

"Ralph Lauren." His eyes shimmered and I could've gotten lost in them. There was no denying this man's sex appeal. I probably would've said yes had he promised to just be quiet and look pretty. "Seriously, I feel as though you and I have tensions that should be resolved elsewhere than in the confines of a school."

"Mr. Stark, I don't feel as though that would be appropriate."

He sighed, though it wasn't melancholic nor hurt. It was more so pleasant.

"I have a knack for making the inappropriate, pleasurable."

I needed to put an end to this. Our banter was carrying on and was starting to ruin my professional reputation around the school. Enough was enough.

"I think I'll pass." Recoiling from him, I finally did what I wanted to do all along and opened the door leading to my exit. But not before offering him a bit of advice. "But you should ask Kenzie out. Ask the the girl how her day was and her legs magically open."

Walking down the hallway that not so surprisingly was filled with students trying to listen in on the conversation going on in the teacher's lounge, I was startled by how fast my heart was beating. Adrenaline was attacking me like a sugar rush and made me a little lightheaded. My breathing grew short and sporadic and if given the chance, I probably could've ran a marathon. Holy hell, why was I feeling like this.

I fucking told Tony Stark off and rejected his date proposal.

While everyone would talk about how they heard Tony Stark speak at their school, I'd say that I turned him down for a date.

Who did that?

**Alana is probably going to seem annoying to die-hard Tony Stark stans that don't want to read about him getting demeaned. However, I want their relationship to be a bit of a struggle in the beginning. They both have preconceived notions of each other that need to organically shed. **

**But for those of you who know, Alana won't be caving into Tony for a while. I didn't even get to the part where she did cave. So... let's do it again! **

**Thank you for reading. **


End file.
